Expect the Unexpected  An Ezria Story
by xlockandkey
Summary: Aria and Ezra's secret relationship takes a turn for the worst when an unexpected problem pops into their lives...
1. Chapter 1  The Cat's Out of the Bag

Aria walked into school with her friends Spencer, Emily, and Hanna by her side. She spotted Ezra out of the corner of her eye, but just carried on walking.

Ezra Fitz – the handsomest, most amazing, beautiful guy you would ever meet. Well, in Aria's eyes he was. She wanted to be with him forever.

There was just one slight problem:

He was her English teacher.

Whenever this topic was brought up, Aria would just sigh and change the subject. She knew it was forbidden love, but that didn't stop her from loving him. She couldn't stop loving him if she tried.

Now, Spencer whispered to Aria. "Is that Jenna talking to Mr. Fitz?"

The four of them stopped walking and turned round to face the area where Ezra was standing. Sure enough, he was talking to Jenna – the blind girl, who scared the four friends just a little bit.

"I wonder what they're talking about..." Hanna muttered.

"Probably just about some stupid music for the Bad Seed," Emily said.

"I know I shouldn't, but I hate it that they're working together," Aria confessed.

Spencer looked at Aria, and then stated, "Something fishy is going on here..."

Hanna finished off Spencer's sentence: "And I think –A is involved."

"Ah, Aria," Ezra walked up to the group, and glanced at her. He had obviously finished talking to Jenna, "There you are. I was thinking of talking to you about the homework assignment? You said earlier that you needed help." Ezra was completely oblivious to the fact that Emily, Spencer, and Hanna knew about Aria's little relationship. Aria hadn't told him yet.

"Uh, yes." Aria stepped forward. "I think we should take this into your classroom."

If Ezra knew that the three other girls knew, Aria had a hunch that he would freak out. They're relationship was highly dangerous – not to mention illegal – and they wanted to keep it a secret as much as possible. Aria couldn't lie to her best friends, though. She lied to a lot of people. But not them.

Aria and Ezra walked into the English classroom, closing the door behind them. Ezra sat down at his desk, while Aria stood up.

"So, tonight, my brother's gonna be out at the movies, and my parents are going out for dinner..." Aria dropped a hint.

Ezra nodded. "I'm guessing I should come round?"

"Yes."

"Well, I think that can be arranged." Ezra smiled, and held his hand in Aria's. Aria looked back with a love-struck look in her eyes.

"Mr. Fitz, I..." Caleb suddenly burst into the room. Aria and Ezra's hands sprung apart as if they had been struck by lightning.

Ezra cleared his throat. "Mr Rivers, you're supposed to knock before you enter my classroom."

"But, Mr Fitz, I don't knock when it's time for class..." Caleb chuckled.

"Caleb, please leave the room. I'm talking to Aria at the moment," Ezra ordered in his teacher-like voice that Aria knew and loved so much.

Caleb nodded solemnly. "Yes sir." He walked out of the classroom and leant against the door.

"I'll make a dinner for us, tonight," Aria said to Ezra, smiling.

Hearing that last sentence, Caleb spun around and pressed his ear against the door to hear more clearly.

"That will be nice," Ezra replied to Aria's offer, "But I can contribute."

"No, you don't have to do that, Ezra."

Just then, the bell rang, and Aria walked out of the classroom. Sadly, her first period was Math. Caleb jumped aside and Aria threw a confused look at him, but just then carried on walking.

That night, Hanna was making a lasagne for herself and Caleb, who was staying over for a few months, much to Hanna's mother's disapproval.

Caleb walked into the kitchen and slid an arm around Hanna, after stealing a small handful of grated cheese off of the countertop.

"Hey!" Hanna laughed, slapping his hand away. "We won't have any for the lasagne, if you're not careful."

"Sorry," Caleb said. As Hanna turned to the oven, he leaned casually against the fridge. "You're friends with Aria Montgomery, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah, we're best friends," Hanna replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Uh, no reason." Caleb turned around. "I'm gonna go take a shower..." He wandered upstairs, leaving Hanna frowning after him.

Aria flipped the stir-fry over in the pan, took out two sets of knives and forks before setting them down on the delicate table she had set up. Just as she was about to place a single rose in the middle of the table, someone knocked on the door. Smiling to herself, she skipped to the door and opened it.

"Hey, Aria..." Ezra said, trailing off as he admired his girlfriend.

"Hey," Aria smiled, knowing she had picked the right outfit: a deep purple dress that fell just above her knees and nipped in at the waist. A black belt and matching necklace added the finishing touch, and her dark curls bounced around her shoulders as she walked.

Ezra kissed her cheek before hanging his jacket up on the hook in the hallway. He looked gorgeous as well – in a blue checked shirt and khaki-coloured trousers.

Aria led him into the kitchen. "Drink?" she offered as he sat down.

"Yeah. Lemonade, please," Ezra said.

Aria raised an eyebrow. "Well, look who's being non-alcoholic tonight." She poured two glasses of lemonade – she always had what Ezra had – and brought them to the table.

Ezra took a sip of his. "So, how are you?"

Aria shrugged. "I'm good, thanks. I'm a little stressed, but good."

"Why are you stressed?" Ezra asked in a sympathetic tone.

"It's just... this whole..." Aria was right then, on the spot, about to tell Ezra about the '-A' thing. But that would mean she would have to tell him about the 'Jenna' Thing. And that could lead to a lot of other lies she had thrown Ezra's way. "Thing... with my parents," Aria said instead.

"Well, you know I'm always here for you," Ezra laid a hand on Aria's arm, sending electrical currents through her whole body.

She nodded. "I know." Aria stood up and made her way over to the oven, taking out the lasagne. She dished it out onto two plates then placed one in front of Ezra and one in front of her seat. She was about to sit down when something brushed her leg. Aria looked down, only to find a tabby cat stroking against her legs. "That's weird..." she murmured.

"What's weird?" Ezra craned his leg to see what Aria was looking at, and saw the cat too. "That's strange. I don't remember you having a cat."

Aria looked up. "I don't, I've never had a cat. He must have... just walked through the door when I let you in."

Ezra nodded, and reached for his drink. Taking a sip, he spilled a few droplets on his trousers. "Dammit! Aria, could I have some napkins please?"

"Sure, Ezra." Aria reached into the drawer and grabbed some napkins, handing them to Ezra. Her phone bleeped, indicating she had a text message. Opening it up, Aria scanned the words on the screen:

_The cat's out of the bag_

_Someone other than me_

_Knows your secret_

_-A_

Aria gulped, and hurriedly picked the cat up and put it outside, slamming the door behind it. She took a deep breath before returning to the table. Hands shaking, she picked up her knife and fork and began to eat.


	2. Chapter 2 Sneaking Around

**Chapter 2**

After their meal, Aria switched on the CD player and added music to the calm atmosphere. The two of them sat on the couch, talking about various things.

"So, how is Emily, and all your other friends?" Ezra was fond of Emily – she was an A-grade student, just above Aria's grade. And Ezra didn't give Aria A's just because they were together. He always had an honest opinion – which is one of the many things Aria loved about.

"They're good, thanks," Aria replied.

Just then, they heard the front door open and a call of, "Aria, honey! We're home!"

"Shoot!" Aria whispered. She unzipped her dress hastily and whipped it off – revealing a T-shirt and shorts. She was prepared for this moment, as she didn't know when her parents and Mike would be home. Aria motioned to Ezra to clear away the romantic table she had set up, then went and greeted her parents in the hall. "Hi Mom, hi Dad."

"Good afternoon, Mr and Mrs Montgomery," Ezra said, walking into the hall. He had dumped everything in the bottom drawer in the kitchen. "I was just tutoring your daughter here. She's been having some trouble with English."

"Trouble? Honey, you're fantastic at English. What are you having trouble with?" Mrs Montgomery asked in a concerned tone.

"Uh... we're... this new topic," Aria stammered. She looked at Ezra desperately for help.

"We've just started work on the arts of Shakespeare, and Aria is finding it difficult to understand the language. I was just... helping her out," Ezra lied.

Mr Montgomery nodded in an understanding way. "Right. Well, now you may leave, Mr Fitz."

"Yes, sir. I hope you understand more now, Aria," Ezra nodded at Aria, then grabbed his jacket and walked out of the house.

Later that night, Hanna crept downstairs. Insomnia was getting the better of her. She crept down to the basement and whispered, "Psst. Caleb?"

"Ughsmflmmmm..." Caleb made a bunch of undecipherable noises, which meant that he was half asleep. Or dreaming.

"Wanna come and make brownies with me?" Hanna asked – still whispering.

Caleb sat up in bed. "Sure. I can't sleep either."

Hanna just laughed and led him into the kitchen. She took out a bag of flour, eggs, cocoa powder, and everything else she needed, plus the recipe book.

"Caleb, can you find a recipe in there?" Hanna asked, as she went to the sink to wash her hands.

"Sure." Caleb flipped to a page where it told you how to make double chocolate brownies. "Okay, so the first thing it says here is... pour 150 grams of flour into the mixing bowl then add the butter."

Hanna took out the scales and poured the flour in, accidentally making a cloud fly up and onto Caleb's face.

"Hey, be more careful!" Caleb said, grabbing a handful of flour from the bag and chucking it at Hanna.

She gasped, looking around for something to get revenge with. Spotting the chocolate sauce on the counter, she grabbed the bottle and squirted it onto Caleb's shirt.

"Oh, it's on!" Caleb jumped back and flung some cocoa powder at her.

Hanna squealed. She grabbed an egg from the carton and pulled back her arm, getting ready to fire.

"You wouldn't," Caleb said.

"Oh, I would!" Hanna threw the egg and it landed in Caleb's hair. She grabbed a baking tray as a shield when Caleb chucked three eggs at her.

Caleb chuckled at his success, not noticing that Hanna had sneaked up behind him. She poured a bowl of icy water onto his head, making him wince.

"Hanna!" he yelled.

They started chasing each other round the kitchen, grabbing various cooking ingredients and throwing them at one another. The kitchen was a total mess – it looked like a bomb had hit it. They were laughing so much that they didn't realise when Hanna's mother walked in. She couldn't sleep because of the noise, and came to investigate. She folded her arms; a sour look planted on her face. "What are you doing?"

"Uh... making brownies. We... we couldn't sleep." Hanna gulped.

"I thought I told you to behave." Mrs Marin walked up to Caleb, wagging a finger in front of his face. "This is your first warning. Anymore bad behaviour and you're out!"

"Mom, this wasn't Caleb's fault," Hanna said, sticking up for him. "It was my idea."

"Don't take the blame, Hanna! Now, both of you are going to clean up this mess in the morning. Go and have a shower, then get to bed," Mrs Marin ordered, walking out of the room.

Hanna sighed and walked into the bathroom.

"What, you get to go first?" Caleb asked, chuckling slightly.

Hanna just rolled her eyes and slammed the bathroom door. After her shower, she let Caleb in, and then climbed into her bed, right when her phone bleeped. Struggling to think who it could be, she opened the text message.

_I have other little liars_

_To keep up with._

_But I'm still keeping up with you._

_Looks like my plan worked._

_-A_

Hanna took a deep breath, and switched her phone off so no more messages could be received. She shoved it in her bottom drawer, then climbed back into bed and fell asleep.


End file.
